I got these headphones because I needed headphones other than the JVC 55x because the 55xs leaked a lo,t so i wanted headphones that wouldn't leak as much and these seemed the part. I've owned these for a couple days and I like them just not as much as i thought I would.

The accessories the headphones came with was a cloth bag, extra batteries, and the cord. These aren't "look at me!'" like the JVC 55xs are and handle vocals much better. they look much more plain and regular.

As far as sound goes the 55s more natural sounding bass, more of a thump than a boom sound. the 55s lows and mids were fine but the highs were grainy and weren't as clear. The skullcandy headphones have more of a boom than a thump. Also the Crushers had high clear vocals and clear mids. You also don't get a natural feeling vibration from the headphones. That's the part i don't like about the headphones, but i still am very satisfied with the sound. These also can handle about every genre there is. I listen to metal as well as Metalcore, some Metalstep and Dubstep, and classical and they sound fantastic.

For build quality they are very good. When you hold these in your hands the give a reassuring feeling of "these wont break easily" even though it made of plastic. There are no weak points in the plastic that iv'e found. The jvcs did not give me the same feeling. The vents on the bottom are fake I'm pretty sure. However, for leak control these are very good as a t full volume you can still barely hear them on someone-else's head.

These headphone are the most comfortable ones I've had. The ear-cup pads are very comfortable and made of stitched leatherette material.
Event though the bass is boomy the headphones hit pretty hard and yet have no distortion. My favorite part about the headphones is the internal amplifier and the amount of bass it amplifies especially the fact you can control it with a slider.

In conclusion if you want a pair of headphones as good as beats for cheaper but better these are the way to go in that context. The sound was way better than i expected to be honest and the design is cool and casual not show off like. I've showed these headphones to people with beats and and they all have said " well the they've outdone the beats" and no longer own beats anymore.

It would be cool, however, if they could make an xl version of these with 60-70 mm speaker with a 55 mm secondary speaker. basically the same with bigger components and a bigger ear-cup. That'd be bad***

BackgroundSo the technology behind the ear cups are quite interesting. This headphone is marketed towards teenagers for the "Bass Sensation". The headphone has a slider on thhe left ear cup, and its job is to "add bass", what it really does is add a vibration feeling. Unfortuantely it requires a AA battery to turn on the feature, but the headphone still can play without the feature turned on and without the battery in place. This headphone costs around eighty dollars, and its very well worth the price.

SoundThe lower frequencies on this headphone without the feature turned on, its pretty good. The bass is very tight, but still a warmth feeling. The midrange is detailed. The treble is a little edgy but it still sounds decent.

ValueVery very very very very good value. Sounds great, and good build quality and good feature.

I've owned these for over seven months, so I decided that a review of my experience with them so far would be good. They've met my expectations so far, and were worth the cost.

Accessories: They come with a cloth drawstring bag for carrying. Honestly, the bag is bad. The string has no clamp, and the knot comes undone. I don't take these out of my house, so the fact that the bag is worthless doesn't matter to me. If you need to take these with you on the go, a different carrying case would be a good investment.

Looks: Skullcandy has been changing lately, and these headphones are proof of that. The styling of them is much less "in your face" and much more "I value how my music sounds" . They are big and basic. They fairly simple, with mostly straight lines and nothing all that striking about them. Even though I'm a teenager I wasn't looking for fashionable headphones, and these definitely are not fashion headphones, which is unique for Skullcandy.

Build Quality: These are made up mostly of plastic, so I wasn't sure how the durability on these would be. After having them for seven months, I can safely say these are durable. I don't treat them all that nicely, but they have no cracks, breaks, scratches, or faded parts. I wore these out in the rain a couple of times, and they are still perfectly fine. The cable they come with is also thin, but definitely not cheaply made. I've run the cable over with my chair quite a few times, and got it stuck in one of the wheels more than once. The cable is showing no signs of wear. Both ends also have a nice metal covering, preventing the cable from damage at the ends.

Isolation: Very good. One of my friends likes these more than his Beats Studios (Monster version), because the isolation is outstanding for headphones without noise cancellation, but still deliver big on sound.

Now onto the most important part, the sound. I'm very satisfied with the way they sound.
Lows: This is of course what these were made for. These are in every way basshead headphones, and they shine in in this category. I listen to quite a bit of EDM, mainly subgenres like drumstep, along with country (I live outside a town of 800 people, and I raise steers, so country music is still at the base of my nature) and some rock. In bass-heavy songs, these deliver a nice kick on the lows. The Sensation55 drivers, while supposed to activate at 55 Hz and below, actually activate around 65 Hz. This activation still depends on volume and slider position, so there is no set point where the activate. The slider is also a key feature that helps maintain a healthy amount of bass without gargling up too much of the mids. The Rex40 drivers deliver very good, punchy lows on their own, the the secondary drivers are the key to making these rumble on frequencies that should rumble, albeit too much sometimes. It's really like being a room with well placed subwoofer, rather than a woofer right up against your ear like the old Skullcrushers. On country and rock, as well as most other non-electronic genres, turning the bass boost off will still deliver punchy bass, but will emphasize and the other frequencies much more.

Mids: The Crushers have some minor difficulties with the mids, at least with the bass-boost on. When the bass-boost is on, vocals are recessed and don't sound all that forward. They don't really sound muffled, but if you really want prominent vocals these arn't the headphones you want. The bass made by the Sensation55 drivers doesn't articulate quickly enough for the mids to sound their best. With the bass-boost off, the Rex40 drivers create good treble, and make the headphones much more suitable for vocal music.

Highs: The highs arn't spectacular, but they're much better than Skullcandy's lineup is known for. They sound like highs should, clear yet not shrill. They are pleasant to listen to. They don't sound amazing, but that shouldn't be expected from basshead headphones.

Tlr sound review: Punchy bass that makes a good rumble, mids that are there but sort of an afterthought, and pleasant, fairly clear highs.

Verdict: If you'r e a basshead, buy these. You won't regret it. Music becomes more fun to listen to, but sacrifices some clarity.

The Skullcandy Crusher is a consumer-oriented headphone that has highly impressed me with both its sound and features.

Accessories - Carrying pouch, 1x AA Battery

The carrying pouch is a bit thin, in my opinion. It is quite stretchy due to that, and I'm a bit scared that it might rip after a decent amount of use.
On the front of the pouch is the Skullcandy logo.

Build/Design - The Crusher is all plastic, but it doesn't feel flimsy. The cups are made of a gloss-finished plastic, while the headband and adjusting frame is made out of a more bendable type of plastic.

Both cups have some vents on the bottom portion, probably for bass control. The left cup has a 3.5mm jack for the cable, positioned a bit further forward than most other headphones. Also on the left cup is the slider for the built-in amp.

The cable itself is a bit thin for a 3.5mm detachable. I don't see myself having any issues with it any time soon, though. Even if it did have a problem, one could easily buy another cable for the headphones. The side that goes into the headphones has a red accent on the jack. A bit farther down is the single-button in-line mic.

Slightly above where the headband meets the cups, is the Skullcandy logo, also made of plastic, but this plastic is quite reflective, and gives the appearance of metal.

Above this are the folding hinges. Their design is quite unique actually. Much more smooth than the common folding method used in headphones like Beats or Noontec. I wouldn't doubt their durability, either.

The top of the headband has the Skullcandy name branded onto it, however it isn't highly noticable.

The headband padding is also interesting. Rather than it being a form of pleather, it feels like it's some sort of rubber material. The padding itself has a distinct shape that will keep its form, however, of course, it is squishy, which is good.

The pads on the cups are made out of a somewhat plasticy material on the outer part, and a more smooth and soft material on the inner parts, including the part that makes contact with one's head.
The pad on the right cup can actually come off to reveal a slot where a battery fits for the built-in amplifier.

Comfort - I had thought that these headphones would be a bit more comfortable than they actually are. It could just be my head, though. The pads themselves are soft and plush, but that doesn't really curve my issue. For me, when I'm wearing them, the back and bottom sides of the pads don't seem to be outward enough, making the front sections of the pads put a lot more pressure on my head. The headband has to be precisely adjusted for me to really get the headphones into a comfortable position.

The headband padding is quite comfortable, even though it has a rigid shape structure.

(Note that my comments on the sound are for when the built-in amplifier is OFF)

Bass - Incredible impact. Simply incredible. I'm not sure what it is, but the amount of bass-impact these have, even when the amplifier is off, is just insane. Maybe it's due to the fact that the headphones were built to vibrate, that the bass has that quality. Subbass extension is quite good. Mid and upper bass plentiful, obviously. On top of all this, the bass is still mostly controlled.

Mids - No recession here. Very impressive indeed. Any music with vocals brings a lively experience to the song. I can't get enough of it. I especially enjoy listening to alternative rock on these for that reason.

Treble - For the most part, it's laid back. That's not to say that it lacks detail or anything, though. For sure it doesn't. It is extended well, actually. From what I can hear, there's a dip in the lower treble, which is one of the most fatiguing areas for many. I can listen to these for hours without any fatigue, granted the comfort lets me.
Soundstage - For real, these sound really spacey. I'm not sure what it is. Neither depth nor width seems to be that large, but I get a sense of openness when I listen with these headphones. The drivers are positioned a bit more towards the back due to the need for space for the battery and the bass-amplified driver, so that could be the cause. Either way, I really like it.

Bass-activated amplifer - Skullcandy has basically hit a home-run with this feature. The amplified bass and vibration are really something.

I had expected it to be less accurate than it is. But no. The vibration matches that of the bass from the music perfectly. When a kick comes up, the headphones vibrate with the intensity that's given by the kick, and decays right along with it.

The slider on the left cup adjusts the amount of bass in the music that needs to be present for the amp to turn on. This feature is pretty volume-dependant, though. If the music isn't loud enough, then it simply won't turn on, even if the slider is completely at the top. I'm not sure if this would really be an issue for many. I do listen to my music at relatively low volumes when I'm at home. I only turn them up when I'm, say, in public, like on a noisy street, hallway, or subway. When I'm in public, I don't have an issue.

Needless to say though, a higher volume will give you more control on how much vibration you want.

A really good thing about the amplifier is that it will automatically turn off within 10 seconds if it isn't used. I don't expect myself to go through batteries very often with these whatsoever.

Overall - Skullcandy's Crusher is not only a great-sounding headphone, but it gives you the bass that bass lovers crave, and makes you look good while doing it. I've already recommended these headphones to multiple people, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Anyone who wants to feel their heads shaken by bass, look no further. These are for you.

For bassheads, not audiophiles unless you are both
Written by ankorpse
Published Apr 30, 2013

3.5/5,

Pros - Bass will sound excellent. Detachable cable, Foldable

Cons - Depends on what you like, may not be audiophile quality sound; comfort depends

I have a ton of headphones, and I consider myself an audiophile and a basshead, so I use different cans for different occasions. For example, I dont like to travel with my grados because they are open even though they are probably the smoothest sounding things i've had on my ears (the grados).

This review applies to bass lovers:

This headphone: has bass which I like a little more than the sony xb500, but it requires a battery to get there. Without the battery on, I would say the sony xb500 is the best I have tried (so far).
It is better than my beats pro detox (which I paid a pretty penny for) and at a fraction of the cost. The skullcrushers (older model of this) are comparable and I think that this headphone is better because the cable detaches, and the battery is behind the earpiece and not in the cord. Otherwise it performs similar to the skullcrusher but sounds a little better overall in terms of overall sound quality. To my ears, the bass is there and bumps hard but doesnt 'bleed' into the other frequencies as much as the older skullcrushers.

If you dont like Bass, look elsewhere. If you want bass, I'd get these before I'd get Beats. These sound like a car with an amp and 15's in the trunk. For the niche of bassheads, I'd think of these. For more of an audiophile sound with great bass, maybe get the sony xb500.

I think they look cool, but many audiophiles hate Skullcandy (and Beats for that matter) and would not be caught dead with these. I think these are a good compromise of sound and style if you like rock, rap and bassy music.

This is just my opinion and how these cans hit my ear compared to my other bass cans: sony xb500, skullcrushers, and beats pro.
Check them out...if you hate 'em...return em.

hahaha, i guess that depends on where you are coming from. for me i can stand the sound quality but it doesnt impress me. for example, my beyerdynamic dt990 also is bass heavy though not quite as bass heavy as the xb500 is noticeable better on sound quality. however, i got the xb500 for the purpose of having a bass heavy can and it serves exactly that so im not complaining